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Gareth Bale slams penalty decision as Wales lose 2-0 in Denmark
GARETH BALE has blasted the decision to award Denmark a penalty as his Wales side were defeated 2-0 in Aarhus.
Cristian Eriksen scored both goals as Ryan Giggs tasted defeat for the first time as Wales boss.
But both Bale and Giggs believe the decision to award the penalty from referee Deniz Aytekin - which punished 17-year-old Ethan Ampadu for allegedly handling a cross from Viktor Fischer - was unfair.
Eriksen slammed the resulting penalty home as the hosts coasted to a 2-0 win, and Bale had some choice words for Aytekin after the game.
”It wasn't a penalty. It was very soft and it made it more difficult for us being 2-0 down and away from home,” he said.
"We played well in phases and they were a bit more fresher but we come out positively with a lot of things to work on.
“We're a tight-knit unit and we'll carry on as normal."
Giggs too let his feelings known, bemoaning the decision of the referee as “opinion”.
He said: “It’s the same thing with handballs. We can argue it all day long; it’s never clear, it’s very often just opinion.
We can argue it all day long; it’s never clear
“Is there movement of the arm? I don’t think so. Is it in an unnatural place? I don’t think so.
“You can get them or they can go against you. It was disappointing, especially because we were really in the game and had started the game so well.”
Giggs had been forced to defend the decision to make Real Madrid star Bale captain, as some suggested the responsibility had gone to his head.
"We have a lot of candidates for the captaincy but I just felt he was the most experienced player and he leads by example,” he explained.
“Also he is very vocal in the dressing room, when Gareth speaks, especially the younger players listen.
“It wasn't difficult as there is plenty of candidates like Chris Gunter and Aaron Ramsey but I thought Gareth was best suited for the role out of all of the rest of the players.”